Friday, February 15, 2013

Juxtaposition

Ultimately, any evaluation of a government's fiscal responsibility
should include its willingness to make effective investments that carry a
short-term cost and its prudence in avoiding unnecessary long-term
liabilities - not merely any single-year balance sheet. And we'll be
left to pay the eventual price if we fail to demand that broader view.

On Friday, the government released its third-quarter financial
report, projecting the province will finish the 2012-13 fiscal year with
a pre-transfer surplus of $8.8 million in its general revenue fund.
However, that’s a decrease of $86.2 million from what was forecast in
the budget.

Finance Minister Ken Krawetz called it a balanced
budget — despite dipping into coffers other than the general revenue
fund. The government will draw an additional $120 million dividend from
the Crown Investments Corporation (CIC).